Morocco - The Hackathon Smart Port Challenge #2020

Digital transformation is spreading new ideas and technologies and helping to connect a greater number of public institutes, businesses, customers and consumers globally. Digitalisation has also become central to the core themes adopted by the MED MSMEs Programme: internationalization and access to finance of MSMEs.

The public sector is digitalizing services and functions more efficiently and effectively than ever before to better support customers around the world, including MSMEs. The European Union itself has integrated digitalization as a major focus area in two of its most recent strategies: the SME and the Industrial strategies.

Also remarkable, the public sector is increasingly relying on the private sector’s know-how and capabilities, and engaging MSMEs and startups to think of creative ideas and solutions that can support digital innovations for better efficiency, such as e-payments.

An example from the South med region is the launch of the first digital hackathon in Morocco to facilitate trade and provide innovative IT solutions to the major challenges of port transit in Morocco, the Mediterranean region and Africa.

Participants will explore how best to address the demands of merchants in terms of instant payment, and those of customers in terms of ease of use. Industry experts, researchers, startups, companies and students are invited to propose creative applications on new and innovative instant electronic payment channels adapted to B2B and B2G contexts.

The Hackathon Smart Port Challenge #2020 is organised by a partnership between Portnet, the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation and Agence Nationale des Ports. It starts on December 18, 2020 and ends on January 29 when the winning teams will be given the opportunity to incubate their projects.

More information about the Smart Port Hackathon | Report: How is Morocco placed for an economic recovery post Covid-19? | Full Announcement